Argentina gets set for debt talks by calling U.S. judge biased

BUENOS AIRES, July 4 (Reuters) - Argentina on Friday accused
a U.S. judge of bias toward hedge funds that have sued the South
American country for full repayment of defaulted bonds,
cementing the tough stance it has taken ahead of debt talks set
for New York next week.

A series of rulings by U.S. District Court Judge Thomas
Griesa leave Argentina just three weeks to clinch a deal with
the funds before falling into another default, which would heap
financial stress on its already shrinking economy.

The government of President Christina Fernandez denounces
the funds as vultures bent on crippling Latin America's third
largest economy for the sake of profit.

"A lot of officials in the United States say its judicial
branch is independent," Argentine cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich
said. "But it is not independent of the vulture funds because
its decisions show clear partiality."

The legal fight stems from Argentina's 2002 default on about
$100 billion in bonds. The financial crisis thrust millions of
middle class Argentines into poverty. The economy snapped back
from 2003 to 2008 before being weighed down by high inflation
and heavy-handed trade and currency controls.

More than 92 percent of the country's investors agreed to
receive less than 30 cents on the dollar in bond restructurings
carried out in 2005 and 2010.

A group of funds rebuffed those terms after buying bonds at
deep discounts and sued in the U.S. federal courts for 100 cents
on the dollar. They won a judgment from Griesa in 2012 for $1.3
billion and Argentina's appeals have failed.

The government is sending a team to New York on Monday to
set conditions for talks by way of a court-appointed mediator
aimed at settling the case. If the negotiations fail, Argentina
would enter default, extending its 12-year absence from
international capital markets.
Continuación...